Mary

Wollstonecraft

1759-1797

She is considered as "the grandmother of the Feminist Movement". She was a writer and a philosopher and mother of Mary Shelley (Frankenstein).

In 19th-century Britain women were expected to marry and bear children. British laws stated that a husband should take care of his wife, therefore when a woman got married, her wealth passed to her husband and, if she worked, the money she earned also belonged to him. Men had the right to divorce in case of adultery, but women didn't have that right!

She criticized the traditional teaching methods and denounced the educational restrictions that aimed at keeping women in a state of ignorance and slavish dependence. She also criticized a society that required passiveness of women and defined marriage as "legal prostitution".

Her ideas were revolutionary and caused tremendous controversy.